Vision Exercise

While reading one of the lessons in the Inspiring Leadership Through Emotional Intelligence class that I am taking at Coursera there was an exercise given to an executive during a coaching session that I liked and decided to do myself.

The exercise is to describe:

My passion
My purpose
My core values
Envision myself 5-7 years into the future
Consider what I really want to do with my life

What is my passion?

pas·sion [pash-uhn] noun
1. any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.

No quick answer here. That must be what makes this an exercise. I am going to equate passion to something that makes me feel invigorated and filled with a zest for more. That said, I feel most alive when I am learning or sharing something I am learning with enthusiastic and interested people. I certainly feel extremely motivated and very engaged when I am teaching other people about healthy ways to live their life through diet, exercise or even changing their outlook. Helping another person, making them feel good about themselves and happier than when they arrived.

What is my purpose? 

pur·pose [pur-puhs] noun, verb, pur·posed, pur·pos·ing. noun

1. the reason for which something exists or is done, made, used, etc.
2. an intended or desired result; end; aim; goal.
3. determination; resoluteness.
4. the subject in hand; the point at issue.
5. practical result, effect, or advantage: to act to good purpose.

Again, no strong clarity here but of late my purpose is to become a more authentic person, to lesson the gap between who I am really and who I show to the world. To rid myself of those fears that hold me back from experiences. Fear of being hurt. Fear of failure. Fear of "looking stupid". Is anyone really paying attention anyway? Aren't we all asking the same questions and looking for the same answers as we make this journey?

I do not want to reach the end of my time here and have a long list of regrets and realize that I allowed the opinions of others to outweigh the importance of the opinion I have of myself. As soon as I figure out how to do that without fail at all times, to help others do the same thing. This little picture I found online captures that sentiment exactly ... find my gift, share my gift. I do not feel there is any value in figuring any of this stuff out if I cannot share it and help another human free themselves.

As I see it my purpose here is to be true to myself and experience as much as I can while I am here. I am living my purpose now.  

Live. On. Purpose.

Yes, thank you.

What are my core values?

Core values are rules and set principles that a person or a group of people live by on a daily basis. They are the values they hold to be true and important.

This question is an exercise in and of it's own. I have found there are several in depth exercises you can do online to unearth your core values. Having not done these exercises ... Off the top of my head I am going to choose five things that are at the core of my life.

Love - We all want it and deserve it. You get what you give, so give love.
Kindness - Sometimes I have to reel myself back in and dial down impatience and focus on just being kind. After I do, I feel very peaceful.
Gratitude - It is quite possible this should be number one on the list, but since I did not type it in that order, it will stay where I put it. I focus on what I am grateful for every single day. When something awful happens, like the sudden death of my dog, I still find something to be grateful for. Powerful thing, that gratitude.
Growth - I am convinced my purpose here is to learn and grow and experience all that I can. And then to share it!
Persistence - There are days when it all goes to hell and I go to bed and let it go. I wake up and start over when the new day dawns. No one is perfect, every day is a clean slate ready to be written on. Even for me.

Another time I will do a core values assessment and see where that leads me. You can be sure there will be a blog for that exercise.

What do I want my life to be five to seven years from now?

This is truly the vision part of the Vision Exercise. Seeing a future, creating it in my mind, refining it. I can see that it is an integral part of living.on.purpose. If you do not have a destination, where are you driving to? Typically I do not get in a car and have no destination in mind. It has been a long time since I have looked down the road and charted all aspects of my life. I tend to focus more on finances and career than the other parts.

I do not want my life to be exactly as it is now. I would not trade my life for anyone's however, I am seeking to see some improvements.

In five years I see myself with a business as a life coach focusing on the skills I already have and also having acquired those necessary to be a FasterEFT Practitioner. I want to make a difference in helping other people improve their lives, their outlook and their happiness. I want my own home and an income that easily enables me to support that and save for retirement and vacations. I also want a relationship that strong, loving, stable, open, trusting, and filled with appreciation and respect for each other. A relationship that I am confident about, with no doubts about the future or where I stand with this person. While I want to have my own business I do not want to feel that I am working so much I cannot enjoy my life. I want time to travel and again experience and appreciate this amazing world. I want to be active, healthy, and strong. I want to have my friends and family close, and create memories with them. I want to be a very grateful person.

What do I really want to do with my life?

To live it, so that when my time here ends and I leave this body I am not wracked with "I wish I had" and instead I can sift through memories like a pirate would treasure. I also want to help people do the same.